Monday, November 5, 2007

The owner of this property must be one heavy duty redneck for carrying tree hugging a notch too far. Some folks get so wrapped up in a cause that they eventually end up wearing blinders, and that could be the situation here. The owner cannot see the forest for his trees, since at least two of them are growing right through his building.

I like shade as much as the next guy, but imagine the extra labor you would need to expend annually just to maintain the precarious balance existing here between man and nature.

As the trees grow the trunks will thicken and you will have to remove a little of the roof, a little of the siding on the outside of the building, and who knows what else on the inside of the property. Then you must waterproof any areas where nature meets man-made materials. Case in point: notice the green waterproofing around the spots where the trunks run through the roof.

Then, what about the bugs that always come with trees? You cannot keep them out of the building because, if they can get into the tree, they can get inside the structure.

Also, that does not take into account the damage that the roots might do to the foundation of the building.

The nagging question here is the chicken or the egg dilemma. Which came first? Was the building built around the trees or did the trees grow through the building? The latter might simply be the result of a person’s procrastinating nature.

“Yeah, I have to get around to trimming out those trees growing here in the house, but, I am getting too much pressure at work. Maybe I will get to it next week or next month.”

Next month becomes next June, which becomes next year. Soon…Voila! You have the situation you see before you.

Maybe it’s like those people you read about that had their home condemned by the city because they allowed 89 cats to run loose in the place. It probably started with only a couple of cats, then they had a litter…and then another litter…and so on.

But if the building’s owner removes the trees now, major reconstruction will be needed to cover up the areas where the trees grew through the building.

This situation will teach you not to procrastinate. I intend to learn from this, and, whatever needs to be done around my home, I will do it now!

Right after my nap.

The video quite literally presents a different type of treehugger. This redneck lumberjack has placed a unique label on his version of tree hugging. I don't think I ever want to be quite that radical, thank you. Ooh! That has to hurt!